The three-day virtual summit brought together movers and shakers from around the globe committed to gender equality to discuss girls' futures.
Michelle Obama, Meghan Markle, Priyanka Chopra, and Hilary Clinton are some of the amazing women that spoke at the recent 2020 Girl Up Leadership Summit.
Girl Up is an initiative founded by the United Nations Foundation. Since 2010, Girl Up has been working to give girls the resources and platform to start a social change movement wherever they are. It is a global movement of empowered young women leaders who defend gender equality.
Girl Up has hosted Leadership Summits in Washington, D.C., since 2012. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic this year, the summit took place virtually, allowing over 40,000 girls and world leaders from across the oceans to come together and connect online. With the theme "We Need to Talk," Girl Up hopes to push the conversation about intersectional gender equality and find solutions to issues like gender-based violence, homelessness, education inequity, etc.
Former First Lady Michelle Obama delivered a special message on behalf of the Girls Opportunity Alliance, an Obama Foundation program that seeks to empower adolescent girls worldwide through education. In her speech, Michelle addressed the disruptive impact of COVID-19 on girls' education across the globe. However, she said that girls "have shown incredible resilience" in crises like this and that the world needs their effort now more than ever.
Michelle also pointed out that "the struggles that many girls already face are worsened in times like these." Domestic violence, child marriage, teen pregnancy, etc., are only some of the challenges made even starker by the global pandemic. Beyond all these, many girls may also lose their access to education. The Malala Fund predicts that 10 million girls of secondary school age will be unable to return to their classrooms even after the pandemic ends.
"We can't let these girls be forgotten," Michelle said because when girls are allowed to learn, they are given the power to change the world. She praised Girl Up clubs' effort to serve their global community during this pandemic, making face masks in Mexico to set up online learning platforms in Malawi. Michelle tells the girls, at the end of her speech, "You're not just tomorrow's leaders; you're already the leaders of today."
Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex and former actress, joined the Girl Up Leadership Summit to empower girls worldwide. In her speech, she told the girls they are "setting the tone for an equitable humanity." "This is a humanity that desperately needs you," the Duchess said, encouraging girls to push lawmakers and world leaders in a more just, inclusive, and empathetic direction.
Girl Up girls have always been at the forefront of social movements. They are organizing Black Lives Matter protests worldwide, amplifying the voices of underprivileged communities, and pushing debates on criminal justice, climate change, gun violence, and many more. Meghan encourages these young changemakers to keep challenging the status quo because those in positions of power will not change unless they have to. "Keep pushing, make them a little uncomfortable because it's only in that discomfort that we create the conditions to reimagine our standards, policies, and leadership," Meghan says.
Moreover, she points out that young people don't have to be satisfied with the current speed of change, addressing that the progress of social change is, paradoxically, "both aided and impaired by our digital space." Generation Z, often called digital natives, are asked to use their online platforms to build each other up and spread positivity with their voices. To do so, Meghan listed some influential women who can inspire Generation Z.
The Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, and WNBA star Maya Moore are just two examples. "We have to speak up for ourselves and speak out for others who struggle to be heard." To close out her speech, Meghan urges the girls to do what's right for their communities and honor their conviction and compassion.
Priyanka Chopra Jones, actress, singer, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, and a friend of Meghan Markle's, was also among the impressive speaker line-up. Unlike Michelle and Meghan, who sent their pre-recorded special message, Priyanka delivered her speech live.
The theme of her speech, "resilience and leadership in the face of adversity," resonated with all. Priyanka started with a story about an Indian girl she met named Sadhna, who came from a family in extreme poverty and supported her own family, helping many other girls achieve financial independence through the profitable business she started. By refusing to be a victim of the circumstances she was born into, Sadhna displayed excellent leadership and took control of her own life.
"In every change lies an opportunity to reinvent yourself," Priyanka used this quote by her father to motivate girls to start a ripple effect of social change by investing in themselves. Growing up in a small town in India, Priyanka had big dreams deemed by many unachievable for a girl. However, with the support of her family and the confidence to believe that she could accomplish anything she set her mind to, Priyanka took charge of her future and impacted the broader world.
Now, as an influential advocate for gender equality and female empowerment, she tells the girls to start making a difference with "heart, drive, and commitment." At the end of her speech, Priyanka asks the audience to be aware of their privileges and use them to help girls silenced by society. "No act is too small, no age is too young, and when we rise together, amazing things can happen."
Images are courtesy of Girl Up
Written by Aria Young